In order to get the best possible photo and video capture on Puppit + Digit we decided to go for GoPro Hero cameras. The reason for this is that they shoot full 1080p HD video, 5 mega pixel stills and they can be manipulated so they can be controlled via the Lenovo PC.

During an interaction with Puppit + Digit, there will be an opportunity for the audience member to submit a video or photo on either Puppit or Digit’s memory banks. In order to do this, we have housed GoPro HD Hero cameras inside the body cavity and linked them directly to the Lenovo PC unit. This unit runs a Flash program that prompts the user to hit record or capture depending on whether they want to take a video or photo. This then initiates a signal which is sent from the Lenovo to the GoPro via the ‘Hero bus’ on the back of the GoPro.

We have made a custom connector and linked it to a USB controller that allows the computer to simply switch on the GoPro which is already set in ‘One-Touch-Record’ mode. So, when the GoPro switches on it starts recording video and then when the audience member is finished they hit STOP on the Flash program and the computer tells the GoPro to turn off.